The archaeologists made another discovery near the edge of the pyramid complex in Saqqara, south of Cairo. As Guardian reported, during the excavation of the in 6,000-year-old tombs, the scientists have found dozens of cat mummies.
In ancient Egypt, Cats held a special place and were mummified as religious offerings. So, the recent discovery is very important for the Egyptologists, said Antiquities Minister Khaled el-Enany.
In pyramid complex in Saqqara, the rare collection of mummified scarab beetles was found as well, there were seven sarcophagi for the insects. According to the archaeologists, some dating back more than 6,000 years. The Antiquities ministry’s excavation mission was started in April, since then, the researchers made several interesting discoveries. Among them, a collection of wooden, gilded statues of a lion, a cow and a falcon.
Three of the tombs had been used for cats while one of four other sarcophagi discovered at the site was unopened. As Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities Mostafa Waziri suggested, the tomb dates from the Fifth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom and is unusual because the facade and door are intact. The Fifth Dynasty ruled Egypt from about 2,500 BC to 2,350 BC, not long after the great pyramid of Giza was built.
The minister assured experts plan to open the tomb in the coming weeks. The tombs lie in a buried ridge that has only partially been uncovered and could offer many more similar discoveries, Mr Waziri added.
Talking about the collection of the scarab, Wazuri, in particular, said: “The (mummified) scarab is something really unique. It is something really a bit rare. A couple of days ago, when we discovered those coffins, they were sealed coffins with drawings of scarabs. I never heard about them before.”
